Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday hoped that the permanent secretariat of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Dhaka would be an “important milestone” in the evolution of the seven-nation grouping.
He was addressing the third Summit of the group at Myanmar’s capital NayPyiDaw. BIMSTEC is composed of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal.
Thanking Bangladesh for “offering to host it”, Singh further hoped that setting up of the secretariat would enable the group to focus on areas that “are critical to realizing the BIMSTEC vision.”
He identified connectivity— both physical and digital—as the key to that vision, stating that it could be a “driver of cooperation and integration in the region.”
“India is working with BIMSTEC members to improve physical connectivity through various projects such as the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, the Asian Highway Network, and the ASEAN Master Plan for Connectivity and others,” he said.
Fighting terrorism
The Indian leader also sought stronger cooperation among BIMSTEC nations to effectively counter terrorism and asserted that the group’s security is “indivisible”.
Singh said the region faces many common challenges — from natural disasters to terrorism, which have to be collectively addressed to achieve peace, harmony, security and prosperity.
“The nature of the evolving threat of terrorism in the BIMSTEC region has imparted greater urgency for stronger cooperation to counter it,” he pointed out.
As part of this effort, Singh said the grouping must seek early ratification of the Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking as well as expediting signing of the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
He also added that negotiations should be commenced on a BIMSTEC Convention on Extradition.
The prime minister also spoke of the many opportunities that BIMSTEC countries offer in the fields of trade and economic cooperation, saying all of this “presage a bright future for us”.
Singh said in coming together, the grouping was not only stepping out of “narrow, traditional” definitions of regions such as South Asia or Southeast Asia, but also building a bridge across Asia’s most promising and dynamic arc.
Focussing on trade and economic cooperation, Singh said this should figure high on the list of priorities of BIMSTEC countries and pave the way for the early conclusion of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement for trade in goods and extend it to investment and services.
Source: Bd news24
